Netflix Partners with Sifu Team to Bring Video Game Classic to the Big Screen

Netflix has become involved in the Sifu film project, transforming Sloclap’s kung-fu roguelike into a major production.

The project was first announced in 2022, with Story Kitchen taking the lead in production – the company is also noted for other game adaptations such as the Sonic the Hedgehog films, the upcoming Tomb Raider, and Streets of Rage adaptations, among others.

As reported by Deadline, Netflix is now fully on board and has chosen TS Nowlin to pen the screenplay, while sources suggest that Chad Stahelski and his 87Eleven Entertainment team are also involved as producers. Sloclap is likewise officially engaged.

Nowlin is primarily known for adapting The Maze Runner book series into a film franchise, and he also penned the 2022 Netflix movie The Adam Project, featuring Ryan Reynolds and Zoe Saldana.

Meanwhile, 87Eleven is developing several projects including Sony’s Ghost of Tsushima film, a Rainbow Six movie starring Michael B Jordan, a new Highlander film with Henry Cavill, and more.

Derek Kolstad from Story Kitchen was previously associated with this project, leveraging his experience from the John Wick films. The Sifu adaptation has been characterized as “John Wick meets M. Night Shyamalan’s Old”.

The game from Sloclap features a young martial artist on a quest for revenge following the death of his master. With the aid of a magical talisman, he is brought back to life after each demise, yet he ages with each resurrection until he ultimately faces an irreversible death due to old age.

The game received favorable reviews and gained popularity, building upon Sloclap’s previous action title Absolver.

This is not the first time Sifu has been…